Boom. That's it. The nail has been hit upon the head. No, he's not the best in the world, but he's the one who hit the popular pocketbook. As for "lowering the standards" of conscious rap, that's a little harsh, not to mention slapping labels onto his music that he never set out to live up to. He's not Mos Def, and he's not trying to be Mos Def. He just a guy who likes to make music. He's the Pearl Jam of hip-hop.

I like to look at the positives... every time Kanye is on the radio equals one fewer opportunity to play a 50 Cent or Nelly song.

I think in the fore front of "positive hip hop" were A Tribe Called Quest. I can't remember a much earlier mainstream hip-hop group/artist that preached the "good" word, am I wrong...

what do u mean the good word? de la soul came out a year before ATCQ. and KRS-ONE a year before that, and before that Eric B. and Rakim. depending on what positive hip hop (not necessarily rapping about ice cream) is, u can go all the way to the origin with Afrika Bambaata. i would even consider early Public Enemy as spreading the good word, spreading true hip hop. all before ATCQ.

actually hip hop has always been the good word, the question is when it became bullshizzle. ur confusing things when u say "mainstream".

Kanye is doing something that really hasn't been done before in rap. Rap now is dominated by hustlers and thug life, which in it of itself makes the African American community appear to be the dregs of society. Kanye is showing a look at the perspective of "you don't have to be gangster, but you don't have to be a scholar." It's not positioning yourself in the middle, but more of being proud of who you are. Kanye's lyrics don't always sync up, he changes his mind a lot. We all do. He's a very relatable, charismatic guy. He's bringing fans to rap and hip hop, people that never thought they'd even try to like it.

Kanye's beats are original and catchy and his words are words that such a polarized youth could use.

that is a slightly patronizing view of hip hop and the listeners of hip hop. most of the kids who listen to hip hop aren't really "polarized" just as kids who listen to smashin pumpkins don't all kill themselves. kanye west may not be reinforcing the middle class's view of hip hop by playing into the stereotypes, but he's doing just as much (as demonstrated by your post and other posts like it) to reinforce it by telling his listeners: yep, there are thugged out whacked out ni***s out there alright, I've seen them, and BOY AM I GLAD TO BE WITH YOU GUYS. And it's really annoying for the rest of the society to be making condescending comments like oh, look, it's not us discriminating against them, we are just judging a pop culture by taking it out of context.non-gangsta rap have been around since Rapper's Delight. Gangstar rap is stuff made by kids for the kids (who were mostly in gangs growing up--I mean that's the origin of hip hop from the Bronx), it's kids posturing and kids fantasizing. Kids everywhere do it, but strangely society has made such a big deal out of persecuting these kids in da hood and it's ridiculous. Don't Fred Durst and Linkin Park and Brian Adams and Connor O'Berst posture as well? It's the nature of the youth-oriented pop culture.You want to know how to make the "African American society" to not appears as the "dregs of the society"? How about middle class white kids don't judge the entire society by the music videos they see on TV? How about visiting that community?have you heard of talib kweli? mos def? blackalicious? mf doom? aesop rock? even dungeon family? they are all rappers who don't offend your middle class sensibilities, but at the same time still cutting edge, with great lyrics, flow, and tracks.

have you heard of talib kweli? mos def? blackalicious? mf doom? aesop rock? even dungeon family? they are all rappers who don't offend your middle class sensibilities, but at the same time still cutting edge, with great lyrics, flow, and tracks.

Aesop Rock is EMO hip-hop.

I saw Talib Kweli when he opened for the Beastie Boys last fall, and he was great. To bad not even 1/4 of the stadium was full. I'll agree with Pete that all the mentioned acts don't play to your stereotypical Rap-Artist image. I'd just like to ad Mr. Lif, RjD2, Deltron 3030, and of course the Beastie Boys among others.

I love Talib Kweli, Mos Def, BlackStar, MF Doom (moreover with Quasi Moto on Mad Villain), and especially Outkast. They are all very talented and underappreciated... well, some get a lot of recognition, but not as much as worse acts.

I feel Kanye is bringing something new in... It's not better than what is out there, but it's certainly something newer, a bit refreshing, too. It's less aggressive than most popular gangster rap, the beats are really nice, and I think he's doing a great job...

I'm still partial to older groups like A Tribe Called Quest and I absolutely adore De La Soul.

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"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye

I love talib kweli to pieces but seriously, this new kanye west influence is making him all wack. he's being ruined. he's cool when he's just flowing his intelligent rhymes and criticizing the society all the while remaining almost romantically optimistic. I really think he can be the next Bob Dylan like for real not just as a marketing gimmick, if he just stops worrying so much about what people call him and stop hanging out with Kanye West aka the devil. He got branded as "conscious" very early on and it was kinda like a kiss of death for the rest of the world even though his tracks are just as hot as any of them out there and his rhymes are SOO TITE. somehow he got clumped together with the neo-soul artists and now he's clinging onto Kanye for fame.I don't think Aesop Rock is Emo hip hop. Emo hip hop would be like handsome boy modeling school or something, rich with irony and stuff.